Neil Young (right) with Crazy Horse during a performance in New Mexico in August. Photo: Getty Images

Young will be touring on the back of two new albums: Psychedelic Pill, his first of original material with Crazy Horse in a decade, and Americana, also with the Horse in which he radically reinterpreted traditional songs such as Oh Susannah.

Young, who turns 67 on Monday, has also recently released a memoir, Waging Heavy Peace (a review appears in this Saturday's Age). The book arose following the discovery of a shadow on his brain; he was advised by his doctors to give up alcohol and marijuana, a lifelong pursuit. The enforced abstention led to songwriters block, but gave him the time to write about CSN&Y, Buffalo Springfield, music and cars, not necessarily in that order.

Young will appear at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, March 15, and at A Day On The Green, The Hill Winery, Geelong, the following day. He will also perform in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and the Hunter Valley.